On December 19, 2024, after years of investigation and collaboration with other law enforcement agencies, the Plano Police Department identified and arrested Nicholas Ray Carney, a 64-year-old man residing in Ardmore, Oklahoma, as the suspect in the 1991 abduction and sexual assault of an 8-year- old child. Carney has also been linked to a similar case in Dallas from 1999, and Plano detectives have reason to believe there are more victims.
On August 15, 1991, at approximately 6:00 p.m. in the 1700 block of Lake Hill Lane in Plano, two children were walking to a neighborhood pool when an unidentified male abducted and sexually assaulted one of the children. The injured child was found five hours later in Garland, Texas.
The invesitgation went cold until 2023 when a Plano Police Detective, in partnership with the Texas Rangers, utilized the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) project to gather further investigative leads from evidence collected in 1991.
In 2024, a combination of traditional forensic sciences and genetic genealogy research by Bode Technology and a crime analyst for the Plano Police Department connected evidence from the case to Carney.
Plano detectives located Carney in Ardmore where he was arrested for the 1991 aggravated sexual assault against the child. He is currently detained with a pending bond.
After more than 30 years, the Plano PD says that this breakthrough would not have been possible without the assistance of the surviving victims, the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences in Dallas (SWIFS), the Texas Rangers, Bode Technology, the Dallas Police Department, Collin County District Attorney's Office, Plano Detective A. Benzick, and Plano Police Department Crime Analyst A. Desmond.
About Plano Police
The Plano Police Department is the largest law enforcement agency in the northern Dallas metropolitan area. Serving more than 294,150 citizens, the Plano Police Department is nationally known for its highly trained officers, outstanding salaries and benefits, and first-class equipment. Since its formation on January 1, 1958, the Plano Police Department has emphasized professionalism, integrity, and progress in providing traditional law enforcement services to our growing community, as well as innovative approaches to community issues. The Plano Police Department has been a nationally accredited law enforcement agency since 1992.
